I did not resign, Akufo-Addo sacked me – Boakye Agyarko

• Aug 26, 2023

Former Energy Minister and presidential aspirant within the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Boakye Agyarko, has revealed that he was compelled by President Akufo-Addo to resign from his position.

Mr Agyarko stated that he had not committed any wrongdoing, and the President did not provide any explanation for his decision to part ways with him.

According to Mr Agyarko, some members of the NPP held a negative view of him, and he believes this may have influenced President Akufo-Addo’s choice to remove him from his role as Energy Minister. Consequently, he was not taken aback by the decision.

During an interview with United Television (UTV) on August 25, 2023, the former Energy Minister detailed how President Akufo-Addo requested his resignation without offering any specific reasons.

“I [Boakye Agyarko] did not resign, it was the chief of staff who called me and told me the president [Akufo-Addo] said he could not work with me again so I should resign. I told him that, if the president did not want to work with me again, I didn’t have a problem. Because I had seen certain steps along the way, I had prepared myself already for that. But if I am resigning, am I doing that because I have committed an offense? No. I have to explain to Ghanaians why I am resigning. The president gave me the job so if he wants to take it back that’s fine. And that is why finally he relieved me of my post and sacked me,” he said in Twi on United Television (UTV)

Boakye Agyarko also mentioned that he remained undisturbed after President Akufo-Addo’s dismissal because he had faced more challenging experiences in life.

“I was not worried at all because of what I’ve experienced in life before getting to this level, I don’t let things disturb me,” he added.

Mr Boakye Agyarko was relieved of his position following the controversy surrounding the review of the Ameri power deal in August 2018.

A press statement signed and issued by Mr Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency on Monday evening, August 6, said President Akufo-Addo by a letter dated August 6, 2018, “relieved the Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, of his position, with immediate effect.”

“President Akufo-Addo has asked Mr Boakye Agyarko to hand over his office to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, who will act temporarily as Minister of Energy, until a substantive appointment is made,” the statement said.

“The President wishes Mr Boakye Agyarko well in his future endeavours,” the statement added. 

Ameri deal saga

The Ameri Power Plant project was initiated in response to Ghana’s power generation challenges and the need to increase the country’s electricity supply to meet the growing demand for energy.

The project was awarded to Ameri Group, a Dubai-based energy company. Ameri was tasked with supplying and operating the power plant.

The Ameri deal was signed in 2015 under an emergency power agreement to quickly address the power crisis in Ghana. The agreement was signed during the tenure of former President John Dramani Mahama.

After the initial agreement was signed, the Ameri deal became a subject of controversy in Ghana due to concerns over its cost and terms. There were allegations of overpricing and lack of transparency in the agreement.

Following the change of government in 2017, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, initiated a renegotiation of the Ameri deal. The government sought to amend the terms of the agreement to reduce costs and make it more favorable to Ghana.

The renegotiation process led to the signing of a novation agreement with a new company called Mytilineos International Trading Company in 2018. Under this agreement, Mytilineos took over the management and operation of the Ameri Power Plant from Ameri Group.

The novation agreement was brought before the Ghanaian Parliament for approval, and after heated debates, it was eventually ratified by Parliament in March 2018.

Gabby-Otchere Darko and Boakye Agyarko on Ameri deal

Mr Agyarko claimed that Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a prominent figure in the NPP, renegotiated the Ameri deal without obtaining consent from the government committee assigned to work on the deal.

Upon confronting Gabby about the matter, Agyarko asserted that he was told to keep quiet because President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was already informed about the actions taken by Gabby.

Agyarko recounted that he received a call from Gabby while he was on a flight to the United States, during which Gabby expressed frustration at not being able to reach him.

“I told him I was onboard a flight travelling. Then he (Gabby) told me that he was sending me a document via email so I should check.

“When I arrived safely and went to my hotel room, I opened my email address and saw the document. To my surprise, Gabby had, on the blind side of the Committee set up and approved by the President to renegotiate with Ameri Energy Group, contracted a law firm to engage Ameri Energy Group and completed their negotiation and recommended a certain company to operate the Ameri Power Plant and extended the contract to 20 years.

“I sent Gabby a mail and asked him what authority he had to do that. And I told him Cabinet has given specific instructions to follow and his response was what makes me think that my Boss (President Akufo-Addo) doesn’t know about what he has done…so I kept quiet,” he is quoted to have said by energynewsafrica.com.

According to the former energy minister, when he discussed the matter with President Akufo-Addo, the president inquired whether there was anything inappropriate about Gabby’s actions.

Boakye Agyarko said that he told the president that, “the authority to renegotiate the terms of the Ameri Power Plant doesn’t lie in the hands of Gabby and that the proposal the firm he contracted made had violated all the Cabinet instructions and extended the contract to 20 years.”

Agyarko added that Akufo-Addo agreed with his reasoning but went ahead and asked him to forward the deal Gabby had negotiated to the committee that was set up to renegotiate the deal.

theindependentghana.com